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3230. Farrell, F.D.. 1909. Dry-land grains in the Great Basin.. USDA Bureau of Plant Industy, Circular 61.This study was conducted for two years at a farm in Juab County, Utah. Average annual rainfall is 14.43 inches. The farm site was part of a larger, six farm study that was conducted for seven years. The results of the study found fall plowing preferred to spring plowing. Plowing to a depth of 7 to 10 inches gave satisfactory results, but under certain conditions subsoiling to 18 inches gave beneficial results. The importance of shallow, frequent and timely cultivation was found necessary to adequately prepare seed bed, conserve moisture and eradicate weeds. It was recommended that seed be of the best variety, treated with formalin to prevent smut, and planted in the early fall, for greatest yields. Fallowing in alternate years was also suggested for greatest yields. For more information on this study, see Bulletin 112 by Lewis A. Merrill.

9827. Merrill, L.M.. 1910. A report of seven years' investigation of dry farming methods.. Utah Agr. Expt. Sta. Bulletin 112, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT.Bulletin 112 presents the results of a seven-year dryland farming study that was conducted on six farms, in six counties of Utah. The average annual rainfall over all locations during the study was 14.80 inches. The study looked at time and depth of plowing, time and depth of seeding, fallow vs. continual cropping, and crop varieties. Fall plowing, to a depth of 10 to 18 inches, produced greatest yields. Planting seed in the fall, at a shallow depth of 1 and 1/2 inches, also produced greatest yields. Annual summer fallow was found necessary for assurance of highest yields. It was also concluded that the wheat straw should be plowed under to enhance the water retaining capacity of the soil. For the initiation and set-up of this experiment, see Bulletin 91 by John A. Widtsoe and Lewis A. Merrill.

9837. Widtsoe, J.A. and L.A. Merrill. 1905. Arid farming in Utah.. Utah Agr. Expt. Sta. Bulletin 91, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT.This bulletin covers the initiation, set-up and first year results of a seven-year dryland farming experiment in Utah. The experiment was conducted on six farms from six low rainfall counties. It was felt that the great depth of the Utah soils would make it possible for a large quantity of water to be stored in them. However, they also realized that the greatest problem would be to get as much of the rainfall to soak into the soil and not run off. After one year, the preliminary conclusions were that subsoiling favored storage and retention of water, fall plowing resulted in greater amounts of stored water and that summer fallowing every second or third year made larger amounts of water available to the next crop. For the results at the conclusion of this seven-year study, see Bulletin 112 by Lewis A. Merrill.

10011. Briggs, L.J. and J.O. Belz. 1910. Dry farming in relation to rainfall and evaporation.. USDA Bureau of Plant Industry, Bulletin 188, 71 pp..This bulletin discusses the importance of using such factors as amount and character of rainfall and evaporation to determine the amount of rainfall that is actually available for crop growth. The seasonal distribution of rainfall has been found to play a large part in determing farming practices. In areas that receive most of the rainfall in winter or early spring, spring wheat is not successfull because it is too dry when the wheat is maturing. In these regions, winter wheat should be grown on summer tilled land. Regions where the summer rainfall comes in showers of less than 1/2 inch are not adapted to fallow because more rainfall is evaporated than penetrates the soil. A rough, uneven surface is best for preventing run-off in areas that have torrential summer rains.